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TRP: Goro and Sugar (Moonstone)
Lina: The Sugar Glider, late evening. Goro hoped having a day to himself would clear his head, but it didn't do shit, and only gave him more to worry about when he returned to the Glider. Like the news that Amari had been working herself to exhaustion again, and that the captain hadn't come out of her quarters all day. He found Amari fast asleep in her hammock, so at least that was taken care of. He covered her with an extra blanket, then went back up to the captain's quarters. He knocked on the door. Coyote: Complete silence. Lina: He waited a moment. "Sugar," he called, and knocked again. "Nixie. It's Goro." Like she wouldn't recognize his voice, or something. He could've kicked himself. Coyote: A longer silence. Then the tentative sound of deadbolts unlocking and a latch unlatching. The door opened a crack. One fair blue eye peeked out. Lina: "What's wrong?" he asked. God. Fuck. No subtlety, no greetings or anything. "I mean, uh. You've been... you've been... I was just wondering if you were, uh, if everything was okay." Coyote: A faint sniffle. Then the door opened a little more. “Everyone’s upset,” she muttered. “I’m, um, okay. Just—being stupid. I, um, had to cry so— I came in here so.... nobody would have to... deal with it.” Lina: "You're--" He cut himself off, glancing around for potential eavesdroppers. He leaned in closer--not too fast, he didn't want to seem aggressive or anything--and whispered. "What do you mean, you're being stupid?" Coyote: Another inch. “I don’t know, I just.... my mom always said.... I was being stupid when— when I get real upset like this. And you, you said that thing about—vacation, and me not knowing good people and being stupid, and—“ Her eyes watered again. “And I know you didn’t mean it, but— I keep thinking about it, and—“ She hid her face in her hands.(edited) Lina: "Oh, fuck. Fuck." He tilted his head back and put a hand over his face. "I didn't... ah, fuck." He couldn't even remember what exactly he'd said to her. He'd been out of his mind that day. Had he really said she was stupid? What kind of fucking monster... He flung his hand down and shook his head. "Listen to me. Sugar. Nixie. Nixbixitus. Which is it? Which one do you really want to be called?" He sounded pissed. He couldn't let her think it was because of her. "I mean, I just... want to call you the name you like." Coyote: She opened the door all the way. “It’s—okay whatever you want to call me. I don’t mind. But—“ she hesitated. “Nixie is good.” Lina: "Nixie. Listen." He almost reached out for her, to put a hand on her shoulder, but caught himself and crossed his arms instead. "You know what? It's true. You are bad at telling apart good people and bad people. But that's because you're willing to see the good in everyone. It's not a flaw. It's... it's... a fucking gift. Like Amari, she's got the same one." Coyote: “Oh. Well—“ Huh. She’d never thought of it that way before. She stared at her feet, feeling oddly pleased, wanting mor compliments but not sure how to get them. “Um, do you want to come in? I know you— prefer to talk in... quiet places. Alone.” Lina: "Yes. Please." He slipped inside and waited until she shut the door. He was having a hard time looking right at her--still feeling like too much of a shit--so he stood a few feet away and stared at the wall, running a hand through his hair. "Look, the vacation thing... you know, there's nothing wrong with enjoying your life. Just cause bastards like me can't seem to figure out how to do it doesn't mean you shouldn't. Yeah, jeez, I could take some lessons from you on how to lighten up." Coyote: She did up one deadbolt again without thinking. “It’s okay.” She hesitated. “I like how you look at things. You know, I-“ it felt special, somehow, that he liked her. Like the mean old cat that used to live on her mom’s ship. It scratched everyone but her. She didn’t say that, thought. It seemed weird. “It’s okay,” she said instead. “I like you how you are. This way.” Lina: "Well, I'm glad someone does." He rubbed his eyes. Still so damn tired. Sleep felt like a privilege he hadn't earned yet. He made himself look at her. "Are you okay? I mean, are you feeling better, since you had time to..." He gestured vaguely, meaninglessly. It was becoming painfully clear he'd never bothered to learn how to comfort people. Coyote: She kept having nightmares about Mishka teleporting into her room, holding her down, and dripping that awful black oil into her mouth. She couldn’t sleep. She sat down on the bed, curling into her legs. “I’m—“ Bad. Really bad. But he was far worse than her. “I’m really bad, but... s-so is everyone,” she said. “Are you okay? I kept—I kept trying to bring you food, but then it was always still there afterwards, so I didn’t think you were eating. Are you okay? It—went inside you.” Lina: He laughed sharply. "Yeah. It sure did. Yep, worst forty-two seconds of my life. And the kicker is, when it was over? It didn't get better. I keep waiting to... wake up. You know that relief you feel when you wake up from a nightmare? Where you're still shaken, you're still scared, but you know it's over. I thought maybe the sixty seconds would be like that, and they sure weren't. Ha, ha, ha." He sank down to the floor, and sat cross-legged facing her. "What can I do to help you? How can I make it better? You know I'm gonna get you Mishka back, right? I'm gonna fucking do it. I'm going after him first." Coyote: Her face felt hot. She felt a bit like a princess with him kneeling in front of her. Well. Sitting. But. Still. There was an odd, funny hot feeling in her chest. “Can you come sleep in my room again?” she said. At least he wouldn’t laugh even if he said no. Maybe if something bad did happen, then at least they could fix it together. Lina: "Yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. Anything else?" Coyote: She wanted a kiss. She sat bolt upright when she realized that. Oh. Oh, that made sense. That explained some things. It explained... well, her funny desire to doodle him in her notebook. It explained why Mishka kept making jokes about them. It explained why she kept thinking about silly things like holding his hand and having swimming lessons and that neat little scar of his. “No!” she said. “No. It’s fine. I’m good. It’s fine. I’m good. Thank you. Oh, you’re so sweet.” Wait, no. Mishka said you had to be, um, aloof and uninterested if you wanted a boy to like you. “I mean, you’re... not sweet. Oh no.” No, that’s not what she meant. “Normal. You’re normal, you’re good. I’m aloof. I’m—“ Oh god. Oh god, he was so nice looking sitting on the floor. Lina: He arched an eyebrow at her. "Um. Are you..." I'm aloof? "Uh, yeah. You're, uh... you're a mystery. Very aloof. And mysterious." He cleared his throat. "Hey, uh. I've got something for you. Came by to give it to you, after checking if you were okay." He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, then scooted over to pass it to her. It was a necklace, a cord with a pendant framed by two beads. The pendant was an uncut moonstone. At first glance it was a dull, cloudy white color. But on closer examination, turning it at an angle, something flashed between the cracks and rough patches. An icy blue light appeared to glow from inside the stone. "The beads are fireball beads," he said. "You can snap them off and throw them, and they'll set off a fireball. I know you can defend yourself, but, you know, save them for when you're in a pinch. Out of magic, or whatever. The stone, uh." His face turned warm. "I don't know, it made me think of you." Coyote: Oh god. He was so pretty when he arched his eyebrows like that. Oh god. She couldn’t remember any of her notes. He thought she was mysterious. Oh. No, wait. He was teasing her. Her face felt even hotter. Oh. Well—“ She hesitated. “I, I— I actually figured out how to do this spell on my own, I don’t need— are you sure?” She fumbled with them. She pulled one off and pushed it towards him. “I’d feel better if— you kept one.” Lina: "Um." He takes it, then tries to hand it back to her. "But then it'll be, you know, asymmetrical." Coyote: Oh. Well. He had a point. It’s much prettier like it. She threads the bead back on. “Right, right. Um. Do you— do you want anything for it? A kiss. I could give you a kiss on the cheek. No! That’s stupid. Friends don’t kiss each other on the cheek. Or anywhere else.” Aloof. She is aloof and mysterious, like Pumpkin. Lina: Goro stares at her, mouth open, turning redder. "Uh. It's... no. It's a gift. A present. Just... a thing." Coyote: “Right. Yes. Sorry. I don’t, I’m, have anything to give you. Though.” Then she straightened up again. She went to her notebook and pulled out the drawing of Goro. “You could have this. I drew you— no wait, that’s mine! Never mind!” Change the subject. She was doing so bad. “We should— we should— m-move your, um, cot up here.” Lina: "You don't have to give--wait. Wait, hang on. What was that?" He stands up and follows her to the notebook. Coyote: She froze up. Oh no. Oh no, she didn’t have any notes on what to do here. Lina: When Goro saw the picture, he froze, too. It was obviously him, no mistaking that. But it wasn't the face he saw in the mirror each day. No scowl, no anger and dissatisfaction. Instead he looked... sad, almost. But calm. Calm and gentle. It was foreign to him. He wasn't sure how Nixie could have captured his face so accurately, and yet... "I didn't know you were an artist," he said. Coyote: “I— doodle. I got bored a lot. On Mom’s ship.” Change the subject. Once Mishka got back she could ask him what to do. Okay. Breathe. All she had to do was defeat an evil body-snatching hivemind and then she could figure out this other harder stuff later with Mishka. “Bed?” she said, undoing the lock on the door. Lina: "Oh. Yeah." He trailed after her, feeling a little dazed. "Well, you're... you're good at it. Doodling." Coyote: She followed him to Amari’s room, and they peeled inside. Suddenly, Sugar realized Amari was sleeping—which was good. Sugar thought rapidly, then slipped off her bangles and the bell on her tail, then set them down. She slipped inside and motioned for Goro to follow. Lina: Goro slipped in after, eyeing Amari's sleeping form warily. They tiptoed to the stack of cots in the corner, and each picked up one end of the top cot. As they carried it over to the door, moving slowly, Goro kept watching Amari, already feeling himself flush at the idea of her waking up and seeing this. The assumptions she'd make. Then, as he passed right by her, he saw that her eyes were open. She gave him a big smile, then promptly shut her eyes again and attempted to force the smile away, poorly. He decided to pretend that hadn't happened. Coyote: Sugar lashed her tail as they moved out the cot. She did so good. Amari didn’t wake up at all. Then her lashing tail caught the bell she’d left on the floor. It crashed into the wall with a loud jangle. Sugar gasped and held still, but Amari didn’t even twitch. Well. Actually it seemed like Amari was shaking a little, silently, her face turned away. Huh. Well, anyway, they had the cot now. Sugar cheerfully helped drag it up the stairs, then went back down to grab her bangles and her bell while Goro waited alone in her room. Lina: Goro stared at her notebook. No. He couldn't do that. Just to make sure the temptation didn't get to him, he turned to the window and gazed out at the night sky. To keep his hands busy he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, and then found himself checking his pockets again, just in case. Coyote: She came back in and helped finish setting up the bed. She opened her mouth several times to say something, then thought better of it. She always stopped liking people in like... a week. It’d be awfully mean if she kissed him or asked to go on a date, then didn’t like him later. He probably wouldn’t like her, anyway. He treated her like a baby sister. He’d come to sleep in her room. No. Better to wait it out, until it went away.(edited) Lina: Goro stood around awkwardly after the bed was set up. Like he couldn't remember what he'd been planning to do after he came here, and wasn't ready to go to sleep yet. He gestured to the necklace she'd left sitting on her bed. "I mean, if you don't like it, I could, uh... get you a different one." Coyote: “No. It’s awfully pretty. You know, because the beads are reddish pink, like me, and the pedant is white, like the scales.” She went ahead and put it on. “Thank you. You’re normal.” Not sweet. No compliments. Mishka said. Lina: "Ah. Uh. Thanks, I guess." He sat on the cot, feeling despondent all of the sudden. That hadn't gone how he pictured. Maybe he should've checked with Amari before the whole necklace thing. No, that'd be embarrassing for a start, and what the fuck kind of person asked for romance advice from someone whose partner was possessed by a hivemind? Well fucking done, Goro. Coyote: “What’s wrong?” Sugar said. Lina: Ah, shit, was it showing on his face? "Nothing," he said quickly. "I'm... normal, like you said. And tired." He lay down and stared at the ceiling, then remembered it was important to close your eyes when you were pretending to go to sleep. Coyote: Oh, he was so cute when he was depressed. How awful of her to think so, though. She sat beside him on the cot. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Mishka—Mishka told me all these things to do to, um, interact with people, and make them like you, and.... he said I shouldn’t... compliment people. Like, he said I need to make people work for my approval? Or something. I don’t know. But—gosh, I’m awful at it. Goro, you are so kind to me. For no reason at all. Thank you.” And before she could talk herself out of it, she kissed the top of his forehead. Then she scampered out the door. “Good night.” Lina: Goro's hand flew to the spot where her lips had touched him. Like she'd left something behind, and he could hold it there. He tried to figure out what the hell had just happened. Where'd she go? It was night time. This was her room. I need to make people work for my approval. I'm awful at it. Oh, Nixie, no no no. You aren't awful in any way. Goro kept one hand on his forehead and pressed the other over his heart, which felt like someone was squeezing it. Fuck. His feelings for her had gone from mildly uncomfortable to agonizing. He didn't have a clue how to proceed. Maybe that was a sign he shouldn't. Like that poor girl didn't have enough shit going on in her life. Caused by him, no less. He ought to back off. Or maybe he could ask Larkin for advice. Coyote: end Category:Text Roleplay